SOLDIER, First Class: Zack
by kori hime
Summary: This is where I'm posting my mako reactor themes from Live Journal for Zack. Summaries, Spoilers, Warnings, and Pairings inside. Not all chapters connect into an arc. [Chapter 6: Start of a twoshot. Zack and frogs don't mix well. Cloud is amused.]
1. How To Save A Life: Chapter 1

Title: How To Save A Life

Canon: FFVII: Last Order then AU from there

Theme + Number: Flowers + 3, Church + 4, Midgar + 25, Help + 65, Music + 77

Claim: Zack

Characters/Pairings included: Zack, Cloud, Aeris; None yet

Rating: K+

Warnings: None.

Summary: When he came to, he thought he was dead. They had almost made it but, wait, he's still breathing! Zack, hold on! Song fic, of sorts.

Spoilers: Last Order spoilers but those are technically in game so none?

Disclaimer: FFVII came out in '97 and I was 7? I don't think I coulda created much of anything back then so no owning.

Glor: Not the first FFVII fic I've ever written but the first I've posted or have written about Zack. Hope I get the characterization 'cause I got a good 95 other themes to write after this for Zack. (smile)

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Zack's body fell to the ground as the bullets tore through his torso. He was alive, but barely. One of the soldiers that had shot him was looking him and Cloud over. He took out his gun, ready shoot another round to be sure.

"...Forget it. Just leave them." A voice said, rousing Cloud into consciousness as he heard footsteps fade into the distance as the rain began to fall.

He opened his eyes and groaned. Cloud pulled himself up and looked around to find Zack's bleeding body. Only just understanding the situation, Cloud's eyes widened as he scrambled over to his friend. "Zack!" Cloud exclaimed as he pulled Zack's head into his lap.

Zack coughed, worrying Cloud more. He proceeded to check over Zack's wounds and wished they had stolen some cure materia on their way out of Nibelheim. Cloud tore off his high collar along with some more shreds of his clothing and proceeded to wrap Zack's wounds to stop the bleeding.

"We have to get to Midgar..." Cloud murmured as he lifted Zack onto his back carefully. Zack was bigger then himself but it wasn't too far to Midgar, right?

Cloud glanced down the steep cliff, the only way to Midgar from where they were. He searched for a less steep slope but found none. He spotted Zack's Buster Blade and an idea hit him. He gulped and hoped that those experiments Hojo had done on them had done some good.

He kicked the sword down toward the slope. He used the blade as a sort of snowboard down the slope. He had a difficult time keeping his balance with Zack on his back and trying not jostle him more then needed but he was determined to save the friend who had kept him alive for the past five years.

Once on the bottom of the slope, the sword skidded from beneath Cloud's feet and he fell forward, Zack's weight not helping matters. Thankfully, Zack had roused a bit.

"Mm, C...loud?" Zack questioned and then winced from his wounds. He hadn't felt this bad since the last fight with Sephiroth. _Sephiroth_... Now that brought bad memories to the surface, particularly the last time he had seen Sephiroth. He had lost his best friend to insanity and death.

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life

"C'mon, Zack, I'll get us to Midgar, I promise." Cloud said as he pulled them up from the ground. "Just hang on, all right?"

Zack nodded has his head fell back onto Cloud's lean shoulders, breathing in his scent. Cloud's presence made the pain lessen as Cloud grabbed the sword from the ground, dragging as he made his way to the Sector 5 gates of Midgar.

Cloud breath came in gasps as he collapsed in front of a church. Zack had tumbled off and grunted in pain as he landed on his back, wounds slowly reopening.

"I'm... sorry." Cloud gasped as he tried to get up but carrying Zack's bulk through the almost endless slums had taken its toll on his already haggard body.

"It's all right..." Zack whispered as he took in deep breaths as he glanced at the church they had collapsed in front of. "I think we're where we wanna be..."

Cloud gave him curious look, about to ask why but Zack silenced him. "Hey, ya think you can drag yourself in there? There should be someone willing to help us..." He said slowly, every word causing him more pain as he gasped for air.

Cloud nodded as he scrambled to his feet, almost falling over again but the church door caught his floor, until they opened, causing him to tumble into the church.

He heard a gasp and looked up to see a girl dressed in pink in a garden of flowers that were strangely growing in the middle of the church. "Are you alright?" She asked as she quickly made her way towards Cloud.

"Outside... Zack..." Cloud gasped out, finally blacking out from the whole escape ordeal being too much for him.

"Zack...?" She questioned and ran outside the church to find Zack, bleeding outside the sanctuary. "Zack!"

Zack looked up to see the Aeris' face. "Hey, babe. Me and my friend need a bit of help..." He coughed out then his world went black.

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Glor: I think I may make this into an arc, but I'm not promising anything.


	2. Mako Eyes: Chapter 2

Title: Mako Eyes

Canon: Original Game Canon, goes AU after the escape from Nibelheim mansion lab.

Theme + Number: Life + 7, Hand + 30, Smile + 33, Unsettling + 81, Escape + 95

Claim: Zack

Characters/Pairings included: Zack, Cloud, Sephiroth, Aeris; AerisZackCloud (not triangle)

Rating: K+

Warnings: Slight slash? Could be considered platonic if you overlook the blushing Cloud.

Summary: Nightmares plague Zack as he wakes up to the aftermath of the ordeal of his escape from Shinra.

Spoilers: None.

Disclaimer: No owning because Zack wouldn't have died had I owned FFVII.

Glor: I'm obsessive and apparently this has turned into an arc. Damn. And the nightmare is taken straight from the script. It was Cloud in his story telling thing but it actually happened to Zack, not Cloud, you know with all the memory jumbling.

EDIT: Thanks to lassarina from Live Journal for pointing out my grammar mistakes. They were so obvious. -.-;; Sorry.

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**_"Normal members of SOLDIER are humans that have been showered with Mako..."_**

Curious. "Normal members of SOLDIER? You mean you're different?"

**Tremble. Pain. 'Help...'**

"H... hey, Sephiroth!"

**"N... no... ...Was I?"**

Slash.

"...Was I created this way too?"

Slash.

"Am I the same as all these monsters..."

Interrupts. "...Sephiroth."

**Slash. Slash. Slash. ...heave...**

"You saw it! All of them... were humans..."

"Human? No way!"

**"...I've always felt since I was small... That I was different from the others. Special, in some way. But... not like this..."**Curious. "Normal members of SOLDIER? You mean you're different?""H... hey, Sephiroth!"Interrupts. "...Sephiroth.""Human? No way!"

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Zack jolted awake, cringing in pain from the combination of the unsettling nightmare and the pain in his chest that he found was slowly fading. He looked down to see Aeris knelt down beside him, healing his wounds. The cool healing breeze washed over him, the pain washing away with it.

"Aeris...?" He questioned as he took in his surrounding; he was in the broken down church Aeris loved so much.

Aeris wiped a cloth over his forehead, wiping away the sweat that had gathered there. "You've been restless in your sleep. Nightmares?" She asked, knowing the answer.

Zack nodded as his thoughts cleared. "Cloud! Where's Cloud?" He asked frantically and Aeris placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him.

"The blond boy? He's fine, he just overexerted himself." Aeris gave Zack a reassuring smile. "He just needs to rest."

Zack relaxed a bit. "Can I see him?" He asked and Aeris shook her head, a stern look spreading over her face.

"I don't know what you two have gotten yourselves into and I probably don't want to know," Aeris paused, giving Zack a pointed look before continuing, "but you're only alive by luck. If Cloud had passed out a few seconds earlier..."

Zack frowned as Aeris trailed off. "Aeris, we escaped Shinra. We're alive and it may be by luck but we're _alive_..."

Aeris cut him off by pushing him back to the ground. "And you're going stay _alive_ if you listen to _me_," She said with finality in her tone.

Zack sighed and closed his eyes, a grin on his face. "Yeah, yeah. My life is in your hands, babe." He teased as he felt Aeris cast sleep upon him. "Hey, no fair..." He trailed off as he fell into restful sleep.

"If I had known it be that easy to get him to shut up, I would have done it years ago..." Cloud muttered from behind Aeris causing her to turn around.

"You're awake? Already? You should sleep a little more..." Aeris trailed off.

Cloud paused. "...it's okay, I wasn't in as bad a shape as Zack was..." He stated as a sat next the dark haired ex-SOLDIER, stroking his hair. "You know, we're running from Shinra... It's not safe to stay with us..."

"So?" Aeris asked pointedly, causing Cloud's hand to still in Zack's hair.

"You could be targeted because of us. Look what Shinra's already done to us." Cloud stated, his mako glowing eyes looking straight at Aeris.

Aeris focused on Cloud's eyes, wondering how someone she knew had only been a Private in the army had such intense mako eyes. "Your eyes... Is that part of what Shinra did to you...?" She asked, a bit timidly.

Cloud looked away from Aeris, suddenly his shyness coming back in waves. "Yeah, and they shot Zack how many times before they thought he was dead? And they left me for dead thinking I was so out of it from the mako that I'd die on that cliff with him."

Aeris was left speechless. She had no idea how to comfort this person in front of her she barely knew but felt she should, from all the stories Zack had told her of this boy. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, get a little more rest. When Zack wakes up, there'll be no rest for either of us."

Cloud smiled a little at what she said and nodded. "Yeah..." He was about to get up when she stopped him.

"Stay here, I know there really isn't anywhere comfortable to sleep in this church but I think Zack would be happy to wake up with you sleeping by his side," Aeris said with a smile.

Cloud blushed as he settled next to Zack but Zack, even in his sleep, had other ideas. Zack pulled him in so Cloud's head would rest on his shoulder. Cloud blushed harder, trying to struggle out of his grasp but soon gave in when he felt Zack's grip tighten.

Aeris giggled as she settled on the other side of Zack. "Good night, Cloud." She whispered as she snuggled into Zack's side, his arm unconsciously pulling her in as well.

"...good night, Aeris." Cloud whispered, finally accepting his fate that Zack would never let him go. Cloud had a sneaking suspicion that Aeris held on to people just as tightly as Zack was holding onto him in that moment.

A smile made it's way onto Zack's face as he held onto two of the people he cared about most.

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Glor: Threesome! Whoo! This was so sweet teeth are rotting. (grin) Hope you guys like this.


	3. Disapproval

Title: Disapproval

Canon: Pre-Game

Theme + Number: Nerves + 43, Kiss + 88

Claim: Zack

Characters/Pairings included: Zack, Sephiroth; slighty ZackSeph

Rating: PG/K+

Warnings: Slash, but that's about it.

Summary: "You live for your father's disapproval, dontcha, Seph?"

Spoilers: For who Sephiroth's father is? I'm not sure it's a spoiler but some people may not have caught it?

* * *

"You live for your father's disapproval, dontcha, Seph?"

Sephiroth looked up from his paperwork and slightly raised an eyebrow in question, "What do you mean, Zack?" Sephiroth asked, moving aside some paper work that he had finished.

"You know what I mean, Seph! First you got that uniform custom made, then you got that long ass sword that he said would be troublesome but you wield it like it's nothing, and now you let me and Cloud come in here whenever we want," Zack paused, "Well, not that Spike _would_, but I know _if_ he wanted to sneak in here to get away from the barracks, you'd let him."

"What proof do you have?" Sephiroth asked calmly, folding his hands on his desk and awaiting the response.

"Proof? I am the proof!" Zack said stretching his arms out as if presenting himself.

"Really?" Sephiroth asked as Zack got closer, so their faces were only inches apart.

"Really," Zack breathed, "You know something else that would piss off Hojo?"

Sephiroth smirked in response, taking Zack's face in his hands and melding their lips together a kiss that they had shared before. Sephiroth pulled away and his ran over Zack's breathless self.

"Something else?"

"Yeah, getting away with that," Zack paused for a kiss on Sephiroth's cheek, "right," the other cheek, "under," brief peck on the lips, "his," a peck on the nose, "nose."

Zack pulled away from Sephiroth's desk just as the door squeaked open to reveal Professor Hojo. Hojo threw a nasty look towards Zack then promptly ignored his existence in the room, "Sephiroth, it is time for your medical examination." Hojo stated, his voice grating at the nerves.

Sephiroth rose from his desk, following Hojo out of the room. He turned before exiting, "Remember to lock up, Lieutenant." Sephiroth stated in his military General voice, shutting the door behind him.

Zack grinned. Sephiroth really did live for Hojo's disapproval. Zack and the kisses were just an added bonus.

* * *

Glor: I wrote this for mako reactor at LJ and for part of my NaNoWriMo project. I better get back to that... (cringe)


	4. Nightmares: Chapter 3

Title: Nightmares

Canon: Original Game Canon, AU from there

Theme + Number: Shinra + 23, After + 90

Claim: Zack

Characters/Pairings included: Zack, Cloud, Aeris, Sephiroth, Tifa; AerisZackCloud (not triangle)

Rating: K+, T

Warnings: Slash-y undertones? But the whole damn game had those so whatever...

Summary: Visions of Sephiroth continue to plague Zack's dreams...

Spoilers: A few things picked up from Before Crisis but nothing really spoilerish for the storyline of that game.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; all belongs to the great Nomura-sama.

Glor: Yeah, Zack is stubborn muse, ain't he? Use of script; you should notice what it from the original game.

* * *

_I couldn't stop him..._ Zack opened his eyes to see himself back in Nibelheim inn, five years ago.

"He's gone..." Zack muttered as he headed out of the inn; somehow, he knew instinctually where Sephiroth would be.

Once in his destination, he found a secret passage way and headed down the rickety spiral wooden planks leading to the basement. He heard a laugh and headed towards it, knowing it was Sephiroth's laugh, although it sounded maniac, not the same laugh he had been able elicit from the man before.

"Ha, ha, ha..." Sephiroth laughed then heard Zack enter. "Who is it!?" He questioned angrily, sitting at the desk surrounded by scattered piles of books and shelves askew. "Hmph... Traitor."

"Traitor?" Zack questioned incredulously. _Seph, what's happened to you...?_

"You ignorant traitor. I'll tell you." Sephiroth spat out, turning away from Zack, towards a wall. "This Planet originally belonged to the Cetra. Cetra was an itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on... At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness." Sephiroth turned to Zack.

"But, those that disliked the journey appeared. Those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving one whit in return!" Sephiroth paused, looking down.

"Those are your ancestors."

"Sephiroth..." Zack's plea went unheard by Sephiroth. _Are you...losing your mind?_

"Long ago, disaster struck this planet." He looked up and paced to another side of the room, facing yet another wall. "Your ancestors escaped... They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase.

"Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports." Sephiroth looked up at Zack and motioned to the reports surrounding him.

"What does that have to do with you?" Zack asked. _You're human, I know you are..._

"Don't you get it?" He asked, standing next to Zack but facing away, towards the hallway. "An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project."

Sephiroth puts his face in his hands. "The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients... no, the Cetra." He looked up and straightened his posture.

"...I am the one that was produced." Sephiroth stated and Zack turned to face him although Sephiroth did not face him. _...no. It's not true!_

"Pr... Produced!?" Zack stuttered. _No, you're human, Seph, I swear you are..._

"Yes. Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me." Sephiroth stated as he walked down the hallway, stopping at the end, not moving at all.

"How... how did he...?" Zack ran after Sephiroth then stopped. "Se... Sephiroth?" _Don't you trust me anymore...? We _are_ best friends!_

"Out of my way. I'm going to see my mother." He determinedly walked out of the library. Zack followed him out of mansion.

Sephiroth... He thought to himself as he made his way to Cloud's village, set ablaze by his idol and Zack's best friend. Zack's eyes widened as he ran to help the townspeople. _Sephiroth... I've lost him to insanity..._

He thought to himself as he made his way to Cloud's village, set ablaze by his idol and Zack's best friend. Zack's eyes widened as he ran to help the townspeople. 

---------------------------------------------

Zack eyes shot open from his less than peaceful slumber, his breathing labored. He looked around find himself in Sector 5 church, with Aeris sleeping to his left and Cloud sleeping to his right, his arms around both. He quietly slipped his arms away from them and made his way to the rafters of the church.

I can't be near them right now, not like this... He thought to himself as he wiped away the cold sweat from his nightmares. He settled himself on one of the rafters above Aeris and Cloud, who had in his absence snuggled close together, missing his warmth.

Zack ran his hands over his face. _It's been five years, why am I dreaming of him _now_? He's dead but why is it I still feel his presence...Is he still alive, somewhere out there? _Zack thought to himself as he tried to make himself more comfortable, he noticed something in his pocket.

"Eh?" he questioned and took out some crumpled papers and a case of disks. "Oh yeah... I took these from the lab. Gotta figure out what's on 'em..." _Guess we need to find a computer but where would find a computer other then at Shrina Inc.?_

"Zack? Zack!" Cloud's panicked voice sounded out from below, stirring Aeris and catching Zack's attention.

"Up here, kid," Zack called down, to calm the panicked blond.

Cloud looked up as Aeris rubbed the last bits of sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing up _there_?" Cloud asked, not worried anymore but instead annoyed.

"Couldn't sleep. You know me, can't stay in one place for very long," Zack quipped as he stuffed the lab papers and disks back in his pockets and proceeded to jump down from the rafters in one leap.

Zack landed right in front of Cloud, startling him into falling back. Cloud glared from his place on the ground as Aeris giggled as she got up herself and helped Cloud up as well. "Sleep well?" Zack asked casually.

Cloud's face scrunched up. "Yeah, but apparently you didn't," Cloud paused. "Nightmares?"

"It's no big deal, no worries!" Zack exclaimed as he ruffled Cloud's hair, although Zack's attempt at levity did not provide Cloud with much reassurance.

"So what are you hiding in your pockets, Zack?" Aeris stepped in before Cloud could start his next sentence.

"Well..." Zack trailed off. "Before I dragged Cloud out of that lab in Nibelheim, I had grabbed some papers and disks..."

"What's on them?" Aeris questioned as Zack took out the papers and silently passed them to Cloud.

"...about the experiments..." Cloud trailed. "Us... Zack and I..."

"Oh," Aeris breathed out then changed the subject with a smile. "Well, I guess we'll need to find a computer, hm?"

"Where would find a computer other than with the Shinra?" Cloud questioned.

"Well, I've heard rumors about a group called AVALANCHE that has reemerged to fight Shinra. Perhaps they have a computer system?" Aeris said and Zack's face lit up.

"All right! Let's find these AVALANCHE people!" Zack exclaimed. Cloud gave him a skeptical look.

"If they're against Shinra, I doubt their whereabouts are really common knowledge," Cloud stated.

Zack pulled a face. "Eh..." he trailed off.

"I've heard they're stationed in Sector 7. That's a good place to start as any, right?" Aeris said with a smile.

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"We'll never find 'em!" Zack exclaimed dramatically as he collapsed on the steps of a bar. "We searched all of Sector 7 too!"

"Not all..." Aeris said and Zack followed her eyes to the sign on the building behind him.

"Seventh Heaven," Cloud read the name of the bar. "Think they'd station themselves in a bar?"

"Seems as good a place as any!" Zack jumped up. "And if it's not it, we can get some drinks to drown our sorrows!"

Zack bounded for the door and Cloud shook his head in disapproval. Once the door shut behind Zack, Aeris and Cloud heard yelp and ran into see a startled Zack and an even more startled barmaid. "Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed.

"Cloud!" Tifa ran over to Cloud and pulled him into a hug, "You're all right! I didn't know what happened and..." Cloud looked over Tifa's shoulder to see grinning like a maniac giving him a thumbs up, "I thought you and Zack had died..."

"No, we're fine," Cloud said as Tifa pulled away from the hug and hit him in the arm, "Ow! What was that for?"

"You said you were fine! So where have you been for five years?" she asked, her hand on her hips with a look that made Cloud feel like he was standing in front of his mother and getting reprimanded for not cleaning his room.

"Eh..." Cloud backed up from Tifa.

"I'll explain for Spikey," Zack piped up, making Tifa's glare shift to Zack. "Well, wow you weren't this scary back in Nibelheim. Aeris!"

Zack hid behind her and Aeris sighed. "Boys," she muttered. She took in a breath and walked up to Tifa. "I'm sorry, we weren't properly introduced. My name is Aeris Gainsborough."

Aeris offered her hand to Tifa took into a handshake. "I'm Tifa Lockhart."

"Well, since the boys seem so intimidated by you," she looked over to Zack and he shrugged while Cloud cringed, she then faced Tifa again, "I'll tell you where they've been. After Nibelheim, Shinra took them captive in their laboratories. They had been held captive for the past five years. Zack barely escaped with his life from the gunshot wounds that Shinra gave him and Cloud had severe mako poisoning. They are both lucky to be alive. If they hadn't gotten to me in time, I don't what would have happened..."

Tifa looked pensive for a moment before she pulled both Cloud and Zack into fierce hug. Cloud's head end up dangerously close Tifa's breasts and Zack's head was on her shoulder. Zack grinned at Aeris who covered a giggle with a hand and a well placed cough.

Tifa pulled away and Cloud was as red a as a tomato. Zack could not hold in his laughter anymore. Cloud looked indignant and hit Zack upside the head for laughing. Aeris smiled at the scene while Tifa thought of something.

"You guys must of came in here for some reason and since I doubt you knew I was here, why did you come?" Tifa asked, truly curious of the answer.

"We came to find AVALANCHE!" Zack exclaimed.

Cloud shook his head. "Real discreet, Zack. I hope no one ever trusted you with stealth missions," Cloud muttered.

Zack ignored the comment and waited for Tifa's answer. "Why?" she asked cautiously.

"We were hoping AVALANCHE would have a computer system so we can look at," Zack pulled out the disks from Shinra, "these."

Tifa took a disk and looked it over. "Are these from Shinra?" Zack nodded. "Well, I don't think Barret'll mind if I let you use the computer for this. Maybe there'll be some information we can use against Shinra?"

Zack nodded enthusiastically as he watched Tifa press buttons on a pinball machine.

* * *

Glor: I decided to stop there so I can start a new chapter and collect my thoughts. 


	5. Holy

Title: Holy

Canon: Pre-game

Theme + Number: White + 12, Materia + 21, Hole + 35, Bright + 38, Never + 52

Claim: Zack

Characters/Pairings included: Zack, Aeris; slight ZackAeris

Rating: K

Warnings: Nothing.

Summary: Drabble. Zack's last meeting with Aeris before the mission in Nibelheim? Perhaps just one of their first meetings.

Spoilers: Nothing really.

* * *

"Why do you have materia in your hair, babe?" Zack asked, kicking his legs from the rafters he was sitting on above her in her church.

Aeris looked up to see him smiling down to her. She touched the bright green materia in her hair. "It was my mother's," she said softly then looked curious. "I wonder what kind materia it is..."

Zack jumped down from the rafters landing gracefully by Aeris. "I bet it's white materia," he said as if there was no way he would be wrong.

Aeris laughed. "How can you be so sure?"

"Nothing's more pure than white. What other kind of materia would your mother give you?" he said with a grin.

"You exaggerate, Zack."

He kissed her cheek. "Nah, never. I got to get going, a mission. See ya around, babe!" he exclaimed as he left, Aeris waving happily as the light from the hole in the roof shone through her materia, glistening in the sun.


	6. Frogged: Part 1

Title: Frogged (Part 1)

Canon: Pre-game

Theme + Number: Water +13, A friend in need + 32, Never mind + 45, Sticky situation + 96

Claim: Zack

Characters/Pairings included: Zack, Cloud, Aeris, mentions of Sephiroth; established Zack/Aeris

Rating: K+/PG

Warnings: Frogs! And a few minor curse words from an unhappy Zack.

Summary: Zack gets a little more than he bargained for while fighting some frogs.

Spoilers: None except for maybe a monster and some items.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but if I had frogs like these... Hehe, I'd turn everyone into frogs!

* * *

Slash. Die. Slash. Die Sla- Ribbit!

Zack's target hopped away, leaving him in quite a sticky situation. Zack sat up quickly and croaked loudly. "Whoa! Is that my voice?" Zack croaked again followed by a sniff, "No!"

Zack hopped out of his clothes and landed on his sword. He looked down at his reflection in the sword to see a small green frog with bright mako eyes staring back. "Ribbit!" Zack screamed, falling back and tumbling into a pile of his own clothes.

Zack thought to himself as he jumped into his pockets, looking for a maiden's kiss or a remedy, finding none. The downtrodden Zack-frog hopped off the clothes and looked forlornly at his sword. 

"Zack! Are you here?" a voice asked and Zack jumped in recognition.

"Cloud!" Zack exclaimed, but it came out had a raspy 'ribbit.'

Cloud jumped back when he saw the small green frog hop his way. When Zack jumped to tackle him, Cloud dodged and Zack ended up in a watering can with a splash. When Cloud heard no movement in the can, he ran over and scooped Zack out. After a moment, Zack sneezed.

"You are a strange little frog, you know that?" Cloud asked with a tilt of his head, "You're a frog but you can't swim?"

"Ah, shut up, Spiky. You know I can't swim," Zack croaked angrily.

Cloud chuckled nervously. "Never mind then," he paused, "I gotta keep looking for Zack... Maybe Aeris knows where he is?"

Zack shook his head furiously. "Spiky, I'm right here!" he croaked, "Wait, take me to Aeris! She could kiss me! Maiden's kiss! Score!"

As Zack did his little victory dance in Cloud's hand, Cloud blinked. "Man," he said, using his other hand to rub his eyes and then look back at the frog, "I must be going crazy 'cause it looks like a frog that can dance like Zack..."

Zack stopped mid-dance. "Because I am Zack! Don't you recognize me, Cloud?" Zack made puppy dog eyes at Cloud.

"Whoa, now you're looking at me with puppy dog eyes!" Clod exclaimed, almost dropping Zack, "Wait, your eyes are exactly the same. A frog with mako?" Cloud paused, "Zack!"

"Yeah! Now get me to Aeris for my maiden's kiss!" Zack ribbited in reply.

"How the hell, well never mind, knowing you it was something extraordinarily mind-numbing..." Cloud as he noticed Zack's sword and his clothes.

"I resent that!" Zack ribbited with a huff as Cloud reached for his clothes and sword, "You'll never be able to pick that up, Spiky," Zack sing-songed.

As if Cloud had heard him, he almost let him drop to the ground but caught him at the last second. "Hey!" Zack croaked indignantly.

"That's what you get for insulting me. Well I'm pretty sure you insulted me..." Cloud trailed off, picking up the clothes and not bothering with the sword.

"Knew you couldn't pick it up," Zack muttered as Cloud dropped him into his pocket.

"Zack, stay in there until we get to Aeris' house. You said she didn't like frogs, right?" Cloud said as he left the church and its flower garden.

* * *

Glor: I've decided to make this a two-shot since I'm lazy and not sure what to do next. 


End file.
